Happy Friday! First up, we’re sorry it’s been a while since we sent out a newsletter – our record breaking Christmas program was backed up with a record breaking Back to School program, and we’ve just caught our breath and getting into 2022 🙂
Whilst those programs were “record breaking” in terms of the number of vulnerable children they were able to support – what’s even more special is some of the feedback we’ve received. Hearing from Case Workers that the Christmas gifts provided through the We Care program were the ONLY ones the child received, or a child couldn’t wait to start school in 2022 even though they’d previously been very disengaged. Here’s an extract from a note we recently received from a local Case Worker:
The Christmas gifts for children and hampers for families were packaged beautifully, and were received by parents with so much appreciation. The school packs have also been received with excitement, gratefulness and surprise that the community has been so generous.
- “[child] is so excited about his school stuff and he says thank you very much”
- “Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I never expected all that stuff”
- “[child] really loved all the great stuff in the bag thanks so much”
- “Woah this is really cool”
We can’t thank this We Care Village enough for providing gifts to over 1,100 children, and Back to School packs to 450 local disadvantaged children. And now we’re really ready to support as many children as we can in the rest of 2022, and we’d love your help!
International Women’s Day
Earlier this month we acknowledged International Women’s Day. A day we were asked to ‘Break the Bias’ and imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. The statistics below show that unfortunately the children We Care Connect supports are still living in a very gender-biased, discriminated world.
61% of children we help come from single parent families (> 80% single mums)
28% of children we help have a teenage mum
39% of children we help are affected by family violence
In the last 12 months we have provided practical everyday essentials to 1,545 girls. The International Women’s Day movement asks people to raise awareness against bias, and take action for equality. For each one of the 1,545 girls (and the 1,740 boys!), we are taking action to provide you with the essentials you deserve – only made possible through this community’s generosity.
The Sunday Sort Volunteering
We have heard from so, so many of you that you’d like to volunteer with We Care, but can’t come in during the week when we’re normally open. So, we’re introducing a monthly Sunday volunteering morning.
Details:
• Sunday 27th March, 9.30 – 12.30pm
• We Care Base in Wyong
• You’ll be sorting, organising and preparing donated items of children’s clothing, books, prams & car seats
If you are interested, please email your name & phone number to: helen@wecareconnect.org.au Places are limited so please get in touch ASAP if you’re interested.
Mother’s Day High Tea Event
Our Mother’s Day High Tea fundraiser is back and happening on Friday 6th May ✨✨ You are invited to join us as we celebrate our community and raise vital funds to provide practical everyday essentials to vulnerable Central Coast children.
Join us to
💛 Support local disadvantaged children
💛 Celebrate Mother’s Day
💛 Enjoy High Tea with friends and family at the Pullman Magenta Shores Resort 💛 Shop at our fabulous Mothers Day stall and win some amazing raffle prizes
Early Bird tickets are $65 – and last year’s event SOLD OUT! We are aiming to host 120 We Care friends to raise funds to support our goal to provide practical, everyday essentials to over 4,000 local children this year.
https://events.humanitix.com/wecareconnectmothersdayhightea2022
And….You can use your NSW DISCOVER VOUCHER that will give you $25 off each ticket. Enter your DISCOVER VOUCHER NUMBER, the DINE voucher will not work. Only one voucher code can be used per transaction.
We’d love to see you there!
What we need next…It’s Cold Outside – our Winter Warmers appeal
As the seasons change, we know that keeping little (and big!) ones warm is a daily challenge. Our experience in previous years has been that requests for warm doonas and warm jumpers, pants and coats – especially for children aged 4 up – well and truly exceeds what we receive. Our goal is to fulfil every order we receive, so if you have any great quality pre-loved winter clothing or as new warm doonas, please check out all of the drop off locations throughout the Coast: https://wecareconnect.org.au/drop-off-locations/
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and we are so blessed and eternally grateful that you are part of our village.
The We Care Team x
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